The trick to unlocking Tahir

It happened. Imran Tahir did not celebrate a wicket. Really.

A smile barely bubbled on the face of South Africa's effervescent legspinner when he nailed Umesh Yadav's middle stump with a classic googly. Three balls later, the same delivery brought the same result against Varun Aaron but the champagne stayed corked.

Those scalps were the last rites in an Indian innings that had already been dismantled by Dean Elgar and Tahir knew his contribution would only be an afterthought. That was not something to get excited about. He accepted the high-fives and back-pats with polite resignation.

Tahir's Test career to date has been a story of anti-climax. He made his debut in the same match as Vernon Philander, in November 2011, in the 47 all out Test. Understandably, Tahir was not a talking point that day.

In the Tests that followed, he continued in the shadows of South Africa's pace pack which had become complete with the addition of Philander. Previously Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel had lacked a third prong, someone who mastered the more subtle art of seam movement to complement their speed, swing, and bounce.

There was no space for an attacking spinner in the South African set up then. By the time Tahir could sink his teeth into the opposition line-up, only the scraps were left. In his desperation to gobble them up, Tahir tried everything. He would send down all the deliveries in his repertoire. A liquroice allsorts package of inconsistency.

Eventually, South Africa could no longer afford the novelty Tahir offered and returned to their comfort zone with a containing spinner even though Tahir never really disappeared from their thoughts. He kept himself in the mix with impressive performances in shorter formats. His ability to control the middle overs of an ODI innings begged the question of why he could not replicate that in Tests.

Some theories suggested Tahir could adapt easier to the limitations of only bowling 10 overs (or four in the case of T20s) and that kept him from trying too many things. He concentrated on effective use of his stock ball - the legbreak - and intermittently unfurled the googly and the flipper. He showed tact in Mohali, something he displayed only once at Test level before.

In Dubai two years ago, Tahir took what is to date his only five-for running through Pakistan on the first morning to dismiss them for 99. Some of those wickets, though, were results of rash shots from the batsmen - Shan Masood went out to drive a full, wide delivery and played on, Asad Shafiq was bowled after missing a slog - but others, like Misbah-ul-Haq, who was trapped lbw by a googly, were part of a plan. Tahir picked up eight wickets in the match but his stay in the team was shortlived.

He was rotated in and out of the side as South Africa went back to Robin Peterson and then tried to go forward with young offspinners Dane Piedt and Simon Harmer. South Africa would probably have stuck to those two if the schedule did not send them to India just months after Piedt and Harmer had been blooded. They needed a spinner with experience in India and Tahir was the most viable option.

In the days leading up to the match, it became evident Tahir would make a comeback. The news was met with nervousness by South Africa's supporters who wondered whether he was being given a chance too many but hoped that a different captain - Hashim Amla - would find new ways to manage him.

In the first innings, Amla's method seemed to be to shield Tahir for as long as possible. He only brought him on in the 44th over, after the other specialist spinner Simon Harmer and part-timer Elgar had bowled. Tahir's first spell was just three overs long, he seemed anxious to make an impact. He tossed it up, he bowled short, he threw in a few googlies, he rushed, he slowed down - all in the space of 18 balls. That was exactly what had undone him in the past and Amla did the right thing by taking him off and calming him down.

Tahir was much more controlled in his second spell. He maintained a fuller and used flight. Best of all he showed patience. The two wickets which came at the end may not have been the ones he wanted - on a spinner-friendly surface Tahir would want to be snaffling the big names - but he had something to show for his efforts.

He would have known he had to build on that to justify his recall and he did. In the second innings, with South Africa needing something special from the spinners, Tahir delivered.

Amla used Tahir only in short bursts of three of four overs and in that time, he showed the control that had been lacking in previous displays. He used variation as a strength and mixed up his pace on a pitch where batsmen were already uncertain. He was rewarded with the two biggest scalps of the day.

M Vijay was befuddled by the bounce of the googly and offered a catch to short leg and then Chesteshwar Pujara, half going forward, half hanging back, edged a tossed-up delivery that turned from outside off and Amla took a low catch at slip. And then, it really happened. Tahir could not control his enthusiasm.

He was so pumped he seemed ready to run all the way to the country of his birth. He had to be reined in before he got to the third-man boundary by team-mates who were also keen for Tahir to keep catching India's batsmen off guard and not the train to Pakistan.

Tahir was consistent and attacking for the rest of the innings. He used the legbreak to surprise as well as he used the googly and picked up two more wickets to finish the match with a six-for and claimed his best average in a Test to date.

Those efforts did not result in a South African win but they did their bit to ensure the team was in a position to push for victory at one point. It also told South Africa they probably made the right decision by recalling Tahir, but that they need to be careful with when and how they use him.

In conditions and circumstances which suit him, Tahir can be a handful. That means he should not just be used on slow on turning pitches but also at times in the match when he is neither under too much pressure to perform nor when there is nothing left to get pumped about. He needs to be managed delicately, but don't all legspinners? And if he is, South Africa may have a reason to celebrate again on this tour.